Identify the 5-0

[Zaund]

Borrowed this from TeamZx2.com

Posted by AZN_ZX2
I figured I'd compile the information I currently know for how to spot a cop car. I am NOT trying to support street racing. This is for those of us who do a little spirited driving and to know what to look out for.

Types of Cars

Chevy
Chevy Impala
Chevy Tahoe
Chevy Trailblazer
Chevy Suburban

Dodge
Dodge Charger

Ford
Most commonly Ford Crown Victoria.
Ford Explorer/Expedition/Excursion
Ford Taurus

These are the most common. If you have any others you know of please let me know and I will add it

A few police departments use alternative police vehicles.

California

* The California highway patrol recently added 88 Dodge Chargers to their fleet. Dodge Magnums have also been seen in use.
* The Santa Clara County (California) Sheriff's Office has several unmarked Toyota Camrys, primarily for use by the auto-theft unit.
* The Azusa, California, Police Department owned the first Chevrolet Camaro police car ever built
* The Colton and Chino, California, Police Departments each had a Chevrolet Corvette in their fleets.
* Fremont, California, police use three Toyota Tacomas given to the city by the local NUMMI Plant (which manufactures Toyota trucks).
* The newest GMC Sierra has been seen pulling cars over on I-80 near the Sacramento and Orangevale area

Colorado

* The Lone Tree, Colorado, Police Department purchased two Hummer H3s in 2006.
* The Lafayette, Colorado, Police Department has a unmarked Ford F-150.
* The Central City, Colorado, Police Department has three Hummer H3s in its fleet.
* The resort towns of Vail, Colorado, and Aspen, Colorado, used Saab sedans and hatchbacks as their standard patrol car for over 25 years. Vail started replacing them with Ford Explorers in late 2003, and Aspen began replacing them in late 2005 with Volvo XC90s.
* The Colorado State Patrol uses the current Dodge Charger in its fleet, alongside the Magnum and Subaru Impreza WRX.

Florida

* Brevard County Florida they use Black Saleen Mustangs
* Orange county they use Jeep Libertys.

Georgia

* Georgia State Patrol BMW 318i used during the 96 Olympics
* Georgia State Patrol BMW 318i used during the 96 Olympics
* The Georgia State Patrol used BMW 3 series for patrol use during the 1996 Olympics.
* Various police departments in the state of Georgia have implemented the use of the Mercury Marauder to their vehicle sleet. Most notably the Lamar County Sheriff's Department.

Hawaii

* A "New Edge" Mach 1 Ford Mustang being used as a cop car by the Honolulu Police Department.

* The Honolulu Police Department and the Hawai'i County Police Department supplements its fleet of marked patrol cars by allowing the use of the personally owned vehicles of police officers which are partially subsidized by department funds. These include not only American cars but Japanese cars such as the Toyota 4Runner and Camry, Honda Pilot, Nissan Altima, XTerra and Murano. These cars are made distinguishable as on duty police vehicles with the addition of a removable blue light bar.

Indiana

* Hobart, Indiana used to use Dodge Intrepids, but have recently switched over to Dodge Chargers. Careful there might still be a few Dodge Intrepids lurking around.
* Lafayette, Indiana has a black undercover Pontiac WS6 Trans Am.
* Merrillville, Indiana has maroon Chevy Camaros
* Portage, Indiana uses Chevy Impalas and have recently been known to use Dodge Chargers including a black undercover one. They also have a Hummer H1.

Kentucky

* The Georgetown, Kentucky, police department had a few older Toyota Camrys that had been donated to them by Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, but these vehicles have not been seen recently.

Michigan

* The Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, police department has several Chevrolet Corvettes
* Clayton Township, Michigan, has a Saturn VUE donated by Saturn of Flint.

Minnesota

* The Police Department in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, uses an unmarked 2001+ GMC Yukon Denali, 20" Rims, blacked out, and tinted windows all around.
* The Mankato, Minnesota Department of Public Safety has a fleet of Ford F-150 pickup trucks, used primarily for traffic enforcement.

Nebraska

* All undercover, unmarked cars in Nebraska run normal license plates.
* In Bellevue, Nebraska a blue Dodge Stratus has been seen used as a patrol car. Two completely white Hummer H2's are also part of the force.
* Cass County has a white Chevy Corvette with yellow under car lights
* Douglas County has a 3rd genration Ford Taurus that appears to be red in color. It has ghost graffics on the side saying "Sheriff" The badges can only be seen at certain angles.
* In Omaha, Nebraska the police force has very plain looking 2004 Ford F150s. They do not have a light bar but instead use LED's near the top of the windows. There are also at least 6 black 4th generation Ford Tauruses and the state patrol has been known to use a blue 3rd generation Ford Taurus
* In Papillion, Nebraska there are a few white Dodge Chargers

New Jersey

* The Edison, New Jersey, Police Department has a marked 1995 BMW M3 that was seized from a drug dealer. This vehicle is used for D.A.R.E and other awareness and education programs.
* The police department of Clifton, New Jersey uses 2006-2007 Jeep Grand Cherokees for the traffic division.
* The Passaic County of New Jersey Sheriff's Department uses Ford Mustangs.

New York

* The Ithaca, New York, Police Department uses a Volkswagen Beetle as the patrol car in the downtown "Commons" area.
* In Western New York a state trooper drives an early 2000 Chevy Camaro

North Carolina

*Union County, North Carolina has Ford Mustangs, and Chevy Camaros
*Mecklenburg County has a Dodge Charger, Cadillac CTS, Chevy Corvette, along with various Cadillacs and Hondas.

Oregon

* Oregon state police have blue Dodge Chargers in their fleet. The regular police force has Ford F-150's and Dodge Dakotas usually identifiable by a brown stripe on the side of the car.

Pennsylvania

* York, Pennsylvania has a newer undercover Ford Explorer in use.
* The Police Department in New Hope, Pennsylvania, uses a Ford Focus.

Rhode Island

* Rhode Island the police have a white Mazda RX-8 with a body kit along with a black BMW M3 with a body kit. They will attempt to race you and if you do so they will pull you over.
* Providence, Rhode Island uses a Subaru Impreza STI.

South Carolina

* The South Carolina Highway Patrol used three BMW M5s during the early to mid 1990s. These cars were given to South Carolina after BMW chose the state to host their first assembly plant in the U.S.

Tennessee

* In McMinn County, TN they use mostly older Ford Crown Victorias for both city and state. They also have a new Dodge Durango along with three 80's model Jeep Cherokees.
* In Roane County, TN they have the same as McMinn County, but they just added 5 new Chevy Impala's added to the force.
* In Bradley County, Tn they have a few older Ford Crown Victorias left but use the newer Chevy Impala's more than the Fords. They also just added several brand new Dodge Chargers. Also there is supposed to be three or four Porsche 911's running around as well.
* In Knox County, they use everything. Dodge Chargers, Ford Crown Victorias, Chevy Impala's, Chevy Malibu's, Jeeps, you name it, they got it.

Texas

* Most but NOT all Texas patrol cas including unmarked cars have the word "exempt" on their license plate. It is located below the state name and above the plate number.
* Austin, Texas has at least 5 gray colored Dodge Chargers, and 3 gray Chrysler 300C's. They have also recently added gray Dodge Magnums to the force as well as a black Honda Civic SI
* During the mid-1980s, the Missouri City, Texas, Police Department used a few Volvo 240s.

Utah

* The Utah Highway Patrol use 2 unmarked Subaru Impreza WRX STi's to combat street racing in the Salt Lake City area.

Virginia

* The police department in Southampton, Virginia, once owned a very rare Audi 4000 police car.
* The Virginia State Police in recent years, introduced Chevrolet Camaro sports cars, Chevrolet Tahoe SUVs, and Dodge Charger sedans.

Washington

* The Colfax, Washington, police uses a Subaru Outback sedan
* The Kitsap County, Washington Sheriff's Office uses an unmarked 2006 Subaru Legacy GT sedan for traffic enforcement.
* State police have a Chevy Z06 Corvette that has been seen on the I-90 Corridor

Wisconsin

* The sheriff's department in Outagamie County, Wisconsin, tested an unmarked 2005 Toyota Prius hybrid vehicle for non-patrol use in 2005.
* Manitowoc, Wisconsin, has an unmarked Ford Taurus they use for patrol.
* West Bend, Wisconsin has been known to use Dodge Intrepids

Canada

* The North Vancouver, British Columbia, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) use a number of impressive vehicles including, Jaguars, Land Rovers, and Volkswagens.

* The Montreal Police employ a fleet of minivans, including the Ford Windstar, Chevrolet Venture and Dodge Caravan.

* Ontario, Canada uses motorcycles and most if not all are Harleys
What to look out for

I don't know how accurate the exceptions above are because it was taken from another website. It seems to be reliable.

Most (not including confiscated vehicles) police cars are domestic

Look for a grill guard

Lights in the grill

Some usually marked police cars have a spot light near one or both of the side view mirrors

Typically they don't have fog lights

Unusually large antenna. Sometimes this isn't a patrol car, just a regular person with some extra equipment in the car.

In certain areas taxis look very similar to patrol cars

Most marked patrol cars will use steelies or the cheapest OEM rims available. This does not include unmarked cars and confiscated cars

Used to seeing the big clunky light bar on the top of patrol cars? Not anymore, more and more townships are switching over to smaller clearer light bars which are almost impossible to see. They are also a lot brighter. If you see a car with the older light bar don't assume the rest of the township has the same. They do this often to confuse you. Some even have lights on the dash so the light bar isn't needed.

If you aren't sure and you are passing the car look at the driver. It might give a clue. If a Crown Victoria is being driven by a young or middle aged man it is more likely a cop. If it is a super old person it obviously isn't. Sometimes you can also see the uniform they are wearing but I wouldn't recommend staring that long.

Speed Traps

If trying to avoid speed traps travel in the speed lane. Officers will be less willing to give chase when they must cross 2 or 3 lanes of traffic in order to get to you. Keep in mind that when you are in the slow lane the radar gun can sometimes be less accurate.

Speed traps are typically right after a hill or elevated area of the road which reduces your visibility.

Even though you might be on the same road the speed limit can change and even if it changes the speed limit might not be posted. Keep your eye open for new township signs. The speed limit tends to change with the towns.

There is a new system to determine speed so don't always rely on radar detectors because this used lasers. It is known as VASCAR and it measures how long it takes you to get from one point to another. Based on this it calculates your speed. One method is a car in the shoulder that appears to be changing the tire but it is actually a VASCAR checkpoint. Thanks to Cyberman for this piece of info!

If you attempt to outrun a patrol car even if you do escape keep in mind you are putting many people at risk for driving recklessly and patrol cars often have an on dash camera which might get your plate number!

Hopefully this can get stickied. I didn't know what section to put this in.


Also do not completely rely on this to avoid being pulled over. These are just tips nothing more. If you are weaving in and out of traffic or doing 120 don't blame me for getting pulled over.

[Otaku]

Nice, thanks.